My 4-Player Custom Supergun - pic heavy

[mjmjr25]

This thread will be dedicated to showcase a supergun. I did not build this gun, though it was built to my specifications.

Please ask any questions you may have, or feel free to post pics of your own.

What is a supergun?
A supergun is a powered interface much like your typical video game console. It is designed to receive, interpret, and display JAMMA boards.

What is a JAMMA board?
A PCB (printed circuit board) using a "universal" connection. The JAMMA (Japanese Amusement Machine Manufacturers Association) connection is the most common connection used on the majority of arcade pcb's for the last 20+ years.

Here are some pictures of my supergun:

Console, Atomiswave Harness (to enable additional buttons), JAMMA harness, Manual, Power Cord, and RGB cable.


Front View, featuring an LED lit power switch, and 4 player support. This particular gun uses Sega Saturn inputs (so anything with a SATURN input can be used on this gun).


AV in options (RGB, S-Video, Composite and Component).
R G B color knobs to adjust for various color saturations.
Volume Control Adjustment.
Service and Coin buttons.
External dip switch settings.
JAMMA Harness input edge.
AC power input.


More defined pic of the RGB, coin, service, dip switch and JAMMA inputs.


The JAMMA harness inserted into the JAMMA input.


And the connection from the JAMMA harness in the supergun, and leading to a PCB.


PCB's with a JAMMA edge play directly from the PCB. Many games are on cartridge type hardware (MVS, PGM, Atomiswave, NAOMI, CPS2, Taito F3, SEIBU, G-NET, etc). These games require a motherboard as well. The best analogy is that it requires a "second console" to play. This "second console" has the JAMMA connector edge.

This picture above shows a PGM motherboard and a PGM cartridge. The cartridge is not connected to the motherboard for purposes of the picture. It inserts into a connector on the motherboard.


A view of the PGM motherboard JAMMA connector, and the JAMMA harness connector.



A bare PCB (w/JAMMA edge on the PCB)
A Taito F3 Cartridge - requires F3 mobo w/JAMMA edge to play
An Atomiswave motherboard w/JAMMA edge and an Atomiswave Cartridge (which is inserted and connected to the motherboard)
A PGM motherboard with PGM cartridge inserted into the mobo connector


A CPS2 B Board (capcom play system 2) cartridge (upside down to show the connector pins)
A CPS2 A and B board set.
A CPS2 B board is a game board - it is a PCB, inside a plastic shell. This connects to an A board, or motherboard. The motherboard has the JAMMA edge connector.


A NES cartridge next to a CPS2 B Board, to demonstrate sheer size.


It is not uncommon to "consolize" a motherboard. This turns the motherboard into essentially a home system and does not require any additional hardware.

Some in-game images:
Deathsmiles PCB:


Capcom Sports Club on CPS2:


Esprade PCB:


X-Men vs. Streetfigher CPS2:


This particular setup runs about $400-500

Your total costs will be determined by how many features you want (AV input options, number of players supported, aesthetics of supergun housing, number of other features (dip switch settings, service, coin, volume, saturation controls, etc).

Please ask any questions you may have!

[flojocabron]

that is some awesome stuff!

This takes some true dedication! It wouldnt really work where I currently live now. Too much dust and not enough space.

Seeing JAMMA all over your thread made me think of this!

http://youtu.be/HlrGlpQ_nLg

[DinnerX]

What's that IDE-like connector next to the JAMMA connector on the Supergun?

[mjmjr25]

What's that IDE-like connector next to the JAMMA connector on the Supergun?

It enables button 5/6 button ribbon connectors. I only have an atomiswave one so far. I still need a CPS2 kick harness, which can be customized for that input.

[AznKhmerBoi]

WoW, very cool!

[d123456]

Very professionally made stuff. Still, I never really got the whole super gun hype, since cabs are so cheap, all wires are in the cab and you have stable joysticks. Naomi cabs for instance are so cheap it´d probably blow everyone´s mind. Yes, Naomi cabs do not natively support lo-res pcb´s, but it is just an example. I´d invest in that instead of getting jamma equipment to run on my tv. Thanks for the pics. The sheer size of the cpsII, lol. I like the point out the sheer noise a cpsII produces. It needs to be tucked away far, deep and isolated in a cab. It´s probably the loudest piece of arcade, console equipment I´ve ever encountered. unbearable.
I´ve made adapters in the past to run consoles on cabs. Very easy. you need to solder just 5 wires from the rgb to a jamma harness rgb to get a picture on your cab (more wires for control, sound, etc.)

[noiseredux]

Deathsmiles JAMMA board?

[mjmjr25]

Still, I never really got the whole super gun hype, since cabs are so cheap, all wires are in the cab and you have stable joysticks. I like the point out the sheer noise a cpsII produces. It needs to be tucked away far, deep and isolated in a cab. It´s probably the loudest piece of arcade, console equipment I´ve ever encountered. unbearable.
I´ve made adapters in the past to run consoles on cabs. Very easy. you need to solder just 5 wires from the rgb to a jamma harness rgb to get a picture on your cab (more wires for control, sound, etc.)

This supergun supports 4players - JAMMA cabs generally do not, unless it is a dedicated 4p w/JAMMA, which is rare and is a huge footprint.

Many of the best arcade games are 3-4p (Turtles, X-Men, Simpsons, D&D, Knights of Valour, Powered Gear, and on and on).

Your CPSII hardware should'nt be making that much noise. There is either too much dust in the fan and it's having to work too hard, or it's simply about to die. They can be repaired / cleaned, or you can remove the fan entirely. Removing the fan is fine in most cases, but be wary to leave the back of the cab (or front panel) slightly open for additional airflow. I've encountered loud A boards but they all run quiet now. The NAOMI mobo is the loudest hardware i've encountered, but once inside the cab, I don't hear it.

Yes, a cab and supergun are about the same cost in many cases (shipping being left out of the equation).

Reasons to own a gun:
1) Much easier to troubleshoot. If your gun is acting up, generally easy to identify. If your cab is acting up, it can take a lot of time to figure out the problem and in many cases - damn near impossible to source the part.

2) Example - my blast city has an immaculate control panel, a flawless tri-sync monitor, a great shell / speakers / power supply / JAMMA-JVS harness...and it isn't running. Why? Because it has one bad component out of about 80 on the chassis (the AT500 chip). That chip is no longer made anywhere. A new compatible nanao ms-2931 chassis costs $700 (or a chinese knockoff for $300). If the monitor goes on my supergun...I move it to a new TV.

3) Space / Size concerns and portability. I can bring my supergun and arcade boards over to my cousin's house if I want too. Obviously can't do that with a cab.

4) Board testing and trouble-shooting - it isn't good for cab monitors and power supplies to be turned on and off when repeatedly trying to figure out what's wrong with a board - much better to test on a supergun.

5) 4player support vs. 2player support.

6) Control Panels are a wash, in my case, as I use the exact same CP as an astro city, with the exception I have (2) of them that can be set side by side, again for 4p games.

7) Monitor rotation. It takes about 12 minutes to rotate my Astro. It takes literally less than 1 minute to rotate my TV monitor.

Now don't get me wrong, I prefer cabs probably 90% of the time, but there are certainly very very good reasons to own a well-made supergun.

[dunpeal2064]

Awesome read, and those pics just tease!

that Esp Ra.De looks all sorts of strange though! Did you have the color tweaked just for kicks?

[mjmjr25]

Awesome read, and those pics just tease!

that Esp Ra.De looks all sorts of strange though! Did you have the color tweaked just for kicks?

Ra.De is at a much more defined color saturation and I didn't feel like tweaking where it was at - that was just a screen shot for a guy on shmups.